The Fall of the Blue and Black Paladins
by Pluviophile15
Summary: We all saw The Fall of the Castle of Lions, but what happened between Shiro and Lance when they were captured? (Lance whump) (teeny bit of shangst)


A/N: This is my take on what happened during The Fall of the Castle of Lions and The Tears of the Balmera, so I did tweak a few little things and change some of the dialogue. Having said that, I did take artistic liberty, but I definitely do not own VLD or Dreamworks.

Hope you all enjoy!

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He didn't even realize Haxus had grabbed Lance. He didn't notice. How could he not notice?

Shiro saw Lance in the arms of the Galran, looking like a limp doll as Haxus threw him to the floor. Lance let out a small groan that shattered Shiro's heart.

"Let him go, or your friend here won't make it."

Haxus's words were commanding and harsh.

Shiro couldn't risk Lance being hurt. He'd already lost Matt and Sam. He couldn't lose another friend.

Before Shiro could lower his _,_ Sendak's arm suddenly collided with Shiro's skull.

The Black Paladin let out a pain-filled yelp and collapsed in a heap on the floor, hearing Sendak's voice fading out as he fell into unconsciousness.

"Voltron is ours."

No.

 _No._

And he sunk into the blackness.

Dark.

Black.

Comforting.

Quiet.

Then, voices.

Loud.

Harsh.

Cold.

Shiro could vaguely feel something cool beneath his cheek. It felt nice, radiating relief to his face. It was hard, though, and hurt a little.

The voices cut through the calm sea of unconsciousness in which Shiro was drowning, making his head pound even harder.

Wait, why did his head hurt?

The pain was fierce as he tried to remember what had happened.

He remembered the Arusians, and the party. He remembered telling Coran how he felt about visitors coming in and out of the Castle.

That rang a vague bell in his head.

He continued down the path of hazy memories, remembering the talk he had with Pidge, how she wanted to leave Voltron. He remembered moving the conversation inside, and then Pidge telling Keith, Hunk, and the Princess that she was leaving.

Shiro dug deeper, still puzzled as to what happened. The loud voices weren't helping his pounding head.

Wait. He remembered now.

Sendak.

The voices became a bit clearer now as he remembered why his head hurt so badly.

He had been helping Lance when Sendak had arrived at the Castle.

Shiro's grey eyes flew open, realizing he had completely forgotten about Lance.

He raised his head off of the cool floor and saw the Blue Paladin lying next to him, still unconscious. He didn't look good. He had cuts and bruising on his face, and his armor was slightly scorched. He looked like he had a welt on the side of his head, too. Probably where he hit it when... when...

When the crystal had exploded, Shiro realized.

He suddenly remembered finding Lance and Coran on the bridge, he and the Blue Paladin on the floor. They had made sure Coran was okay, but Lance was unconscious. He didn't look good at all.

Shiro had been holding Lance in his arms when they made a plan.

Allura and Keith had gone to help the Arusians, Hunk and Coran had gone to get another crystal, and Pidge had gone to help them in the hangar.

Shiro stayed with Lance. He had slung the lanky Cuban boy over his shoulder gently, carrying him to the entrance of the Castle.

He remembered Sendak then, coming to the Castle doors and telling Shiro to stand aside.

Shiro had laid down Lance, eliciting another small groan from the boy.

Then Shiro remembered the battle. He had almost beaten Sendak when Haxus had threatened Lance.

He growled at the thought.

Before he could return to his memories, he heard those faraway voices again, giving orders.

"Power up the Castle."

What?

"The lions are all in their bays," said a pleased voice. "Raising particle barrier. Begin launch sequence."

There was a few moments' pause. Then, "Make contact with Emperor Zarkon."

Shiro heard some kind of beeping, and then the sound of a holoscreen coming up.

"Sendak."

The gravelly, harsh voice cut through Shiro's head like a sharp sword. He recognized that voice.

Zarkon.

"My mission is complete. I've captured the Altean Castle, along with all of the Voltron lions. I am currently preparing for launch and will be delivering them all to you shortly," Sendak said.

"This news is most pleasing," Zarkon intoned. "You have done your duty. Vrepit Sa!"

"Vrepit Sa!" Sendak answered.

The video ended.

Then, "Haxus, ready the Castle for takeoff."

"Yes, Commander," Haxus said.

No.

Shiro could hear more beeping and tapping, but he lied still, listening. He didn't want Sendak to know he was awake.

Minutes passed, and all Shiro heard was tapping.

"Run main cluster activation sequence," Sendak said.

"Activation sequence initiated. Powering up for launch," Haxus reported.

No. Nononono.

There was nothing Shiro could do to stop it, though. He knew nothing about how the Castle worked.

"Commander Sendak, we are ready for launch."

Shiro heard a loud humming; the Castle was charging. They would launch. Shiro felt a surge of frustration at his lack of knowledge.

The whole Castle was rumbling now, and Shiro could feel the vibrations and tremors through the floor.

Then, it stopped.

What happened?

Haxus answered his question.

"The main engine just shorted out!"

Shiro heard Sendak's footsteps, then the computer beeping.

"We have a saboteur. Find him and take him out," Sendak said.

Who? Who was it? Hunk and Coran had gone to the Balmera planet, and Allura and Keith had gone to help the Arusians... Pidge? Shiro wasn't sure. But who else could it be?

He heard footsteps coming towards him. Shiro stilled, regulating his breathing.

"I know you are awake, Paladin."

A booted foot made it's mark in Shiro's stomach.

Pain flared through him, and he couldn't stifle the groan that left his mouth.

Sendak chuckled darkly.

"Clever little trick, but we Galrans have exceptional hearing. I can hear your breathing."

Crap. He cursed himself for not being stealthier.

Shiro opened his eyes, finding himself face to face with Sendak.

He growled and pushed himself up, swinging his arm at the Galran. His hand connected with Sendak's chest, sending the commander back a few feet.

Sendak merely chuckled.

"Such bravery in you. Such fight. You truly are the Champion."

Shiro stiffened.

"Enough of this. Stand down, or you will have to be restrained," Sendak warned.

Shiro only glared at the Galran. His grey eyes harded with resolve. He would not be stopped. He would go down fighting before he ever gave into the Galrans.

Sendak saw the change in his expression.

"Very well. If that will not insure your cooperation, perhaps the Blue Paladin's safety will," he reasoned.

He pointed his cyborg arm to Lance.

Haxus immediately moved to Lance's side, pulling the boy up by the collar of his armor. Lance's head lolled and he groaned.

"The boy's safety has already been threatened once. This will be your last warning. Stand down, or I will not hesitate to kill him," Sendak said.

Shiro berated himself again for not thinking straightly. How could he be so stupid?

"Well?" Sendak asked. "What will it be?"

Shiro knew he had been beaten. He reluctantly lowered his arm.

"Good choice," Sendak chuckled. He pulled out a pair of cuffs from a compartment in his armor.

"No." Shiro panicked. His eyes widened and his breathing grew erratic.

In his peripheral, Shiro saw Haxus drop Lance. The Blue Paladin fell in a heap on his side, arm curling on the floor. Shiro moved quickly to help him, but Sendak caught Shiro before he could. Shiro struggled against the hold, trying to get to his friend.

"No! Don't hurt him!"

The Galran's flesh arm tightened around Shiro's chest, making it difficult to breathe.

"Calm down and comply, or you know what will happen," Sendak reminded him.

Shiro stopped. He had to, for Lance's sake. His chest heaved as Sendak forced his arms behind his back. His left was first, the cold metal clamping around his wrist, pinching.

The other cuff then circled around his prosthetic wrist, and Shiro's arm powered down. At his confused look, Sendak explained.

"It is a power-dampening cuff. Your cyborg arm is useless now, so it is pointless for you to even try to escape those."

Sendak then pushed Shiro on his knees, on the floor next to Lance.

"Stay."

Shiro's expression was pained as he wrestled with wanting to fight and wanting to save Lance, but he stayed. He looked down at the floor, trying to control himself.

Sendak's cruel hand left his shoulders, and Shiro heard him give his orders.

"Haxus, I want whoever is in this ship found and terminated!"

Shiro gasped and raised his head slightly, eyes widening. No. He kept saying no like a broken record, like he could just say it and everything would stop, but it didn't.

"Commander Sendak, I've received a transmission generating from somewhere inside."

Haxus played it.

Shiro heard Allura's voice. Then Pidge's. They were planning to shut down the Castle. But now the Galra knew.

"She's telling the intruder how to take down our defenses," Haxus reported.

"Yes," Sendak mused. "But she's also giving away his location. Find that room. Kill the paladin."

No.

Pidge.

A wave of dread washed over the Black Paladin. But his hands were tied, literally. He couldn't do anything for fear of them hurting Lance.

The sentries marched away, carrying out Sendak's orders.

"Repair the engine. Emperor Zarkon has commanded us to bring him Voltron. This ship will rise before day's end."

Haxus immediately moved to do the job. He passed Shiro and Lance, giving the Blue Paladin a strong kick before he left. Lance cried out louder this time, and Shiro snarled at the Galran.

"Leave him alone!" he shouted angrily at Haxus's retreating back.

"Now, Champion, surely you have better manners than that." Sendak turned and addressed Shiro in an amused tone. "You should display better behavior to your new superiors."

"You're not my superior. You never will be," Shiro said, face twisting with rage.

Sendak flew toward Shiro suddenly, and Shiro shrunk away. Sendak was too fast, though, and caught him by the hair. The hard hand tightened, twisting Shiro's hair painfully. The Black Paladin gasped and groaned in pain, but Sendak paid no mind to it.

The Galran's dark face filled Shiro's vision as his head was yanked upward to meet the commander's. Shiro let out another small gasp. Sendak's eye glowed dangerously red as Shiro raised his eyes to meet the Galran's.

"I already am, Champion."

With that, he shoved Shiro away harshly, and turned back to the control panel.

Shiro panted, trying to regain his composure. It did no good to panic now. He had to wait for help from the other Paladins. They would fix everything. They could do it. They had to.

He was ripped out of his thoughts as he heard a sharp inhale of breath beside him.

Lance.

Shiro looked over and saw ocean eyes fluttering open. Lance grunted and moved slowly, obviously in pain.

"Lance?" he whispered.

"¿Quuueee?" Lance whined.

Shiro shushed him as quietly as possible.

"Lance, are you okay?" Shiro spoke lowly enough so Sendak couldn't possibly hear. Well, maybe he could, but the Galran didn't turn toward the Paladins or acknowledge that he had heard them, so Shiro assumed he was too preoccupied with the engine repairs. Shiro could hear Sendak speaking indistinctly to Haxus over the coms.

Lance slowly processed the words, trying to breathe through the pain. His eyebrows scrunched up in thought and confusion as he answered a moment later.

"M-My head really hurts. I feel like a truck hit me. W-What happened? I can't remember."

That couldn't be good. If Lance couldn't remember, he must've hit his head pretty badly.

"You were caught in an explosion," Shiro explained.

"Explosion?" Lance asked, his eyebrows knit upward.

"Sendak and Haxus g-"

"Ahhh... You're awake, Blue Paladin. I thought I heard something over here."

Both Paladin's head whipped toward the voice.

Sendak stepped off of the platform.

"So nice of you to join us."

Lance eyes widened slightly at Sendak from his spot on the floor, still struggling to pull in full breaths. His normally dark skin was too pale.

'He needs to get to the infirmary soon,' Shiro thought worriedly.

Sendak neared Lance, kicking away fallen debris across the lighted purple floor. He pulled out another pair of cuffs. Lance's eyes lighted upon them, and he squirmed, trying to raise himself off the floor to move away from the Galran, but only managed to partly lift his torso on wobbly arms before he collapsed again. His body was still too weak from the blast.

"Don't touch him, Sendak," Shiro snarled. All the hate in the world was held his grey eyes at that moment.

Surprisingly, Sendak stopped abruptly in his tracks, but not because of Shiro's order; he had his full attention on Lance, with a knowing smirk on his purple face.

"You cannot move, can you, Paladin?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Lance didn't answer. He merely glowered at Sendak, who took his silence as a confirmation. He put away the cuffs.

"I suppose there is no need for these anymore, then," Sendak said. "Debiluke."

A look of surprise stole across Lance's face at the foreign word.

Shiro's only held confusion and worry. He looked back and forth between the Galran and the Paladin, trying to find some clue as to what the word meant when Lance's face turned livid. His eyes narrowed dangerously, and Shiro saw unbridled fury in them.

"No. Tú eres el debilucho. ¡Tú eres el que está ayudando a Zarkon a esclavizar y herir a incontables personas que no lo merecen! ¡Tú eres el que lastimó a mi familia, y tú vas pagar por ello!" Lance yelled fervently.

Shiro's eyes widened. He had no idea what Lance just said, but he had never heard that kind of anger from Lance before. Sendak must have understood some of what Lance said- which made a little sense, since the Galrans and Alteans knew English; they might know a bit of Spanish, too- because the general leaned down to the glaring Lance and answered him.

"Strong words for someone in your position, little one. I suggest you stand down before you cross a line." His cyborg eye glowed a deep, pulsing red, and his Galran eye narrowed dangerously. "And trust me... you do not want to cross a line."

Shiro shivered. Lance, however, seemed to take the words as a challenge. He looked at the Galran with a defiant gleam in his eyes, and he grinned.

"Screw. You. Sendak."

To Shiro's horror and Sendak's anger, Lance hurled a series of insults at Sendak, spitting them in the Galran's face.

"Tú eres un idiota de piel púrpura! Tú un gran secuaz feo. El epítome de la estupidez. No, estupído no empienza a describirte."

"Lance, stop," Shiro pleaded. He saw Sendak snarling. Lance was going to get hurt. Sendak was going to seriously injure him or even kill him if he didn't quit yelling at the purple alien. Lance, however, must have had a death wish, because he continued shouting.

"Tú un coba-"

And then Sendak snapped.

His cyborg arm suddenly flew out and his hand closed around Lance's throat.

"Lance!" Shiro jerked toward the pair, but he couldn't do anything. His hands were figuratively and literally tied. "Sendak! Stop!"

The general didn't reply.

Lance gasped horribly as the hand tightened, and his ocean eyes widened. In one second, Sendak raised the surprised boy off of the floor, giving no warning when he threw Lance back down with a feral growl.

The Paladin collapsed on his side with a sickening thud, and Shiro's stomach clenched at the sound of his body hitting the floor.

Sendak threw him too hard; Lance wasn't moving.

"You said you wouldn't hurt him!" Shiro roared.

"That was before he disrespected me and my Emperor," Sendak snarled back.

Well, now at least Shiro had a hint of what Lance said.

Sendak gave Lance a harsh kick with his boot, rolling the Paladin onto his back. The boy didn't move or wake; he only whimpered. Satisfied that he was silent, Sendak moved back to the control panel.

Shiro inched his way over to the Blue Paladin. Lance's face, which was animate merely a moment ago, was now contorted with pain once again.

Shiro tried to wake the boy, nudging him, saying his name, but Lance didn't even twitch once or give any sign that he heard Shiro. After trying unsuccessfully for a few more minutes, Shiro fell back on his legs, kneeling defeatedly.

He should have stopped Sendak somehow. He should have helped Lance, not sat there and watched Sendak hurt his teammate. He wasn't sure what he would have done, but he could have done something. Anything.

His thoughts were interrupted by Haxus's voice over the comms, telling Sendak that the initializing was complete.

"I'm set for main power up."

"The bridge is go," Sendak replied.

"Powering up."

Shiro's heart leapt into his throat, and he felt even more terrible. There was nothing he could do to stop the Galrans.

Maybe he couldn't, but at that moment, something did. Alarms were suddenly wailing. Sendak and Shiro were both confused.

"Sir, something is wrong," Haxus reported.

Shiro felt some sort of pulse before he heard Haxus screaming. Sendak jolted in alarm at the sound, listening intently, but now the comms on Haxus's side were silent.

"Haxus! Report in," Sendak tried.

But Haxus didn't reply.

"Haxus is gone, and you're next!"

Pidge! Shiro's hope lifted. If anyone knew how to fix this, it was her. She would rescue him and Lance, and they could get Lance the medical care he needed. They just had to wait. That's all they could do.

"You've slowed me down, but this ship is mine! You will turn yourself over to me immediately!" Sendak ordered.

"Never!" He heard Pidge shout. Shiro never felt more proud of her.

Sendak crossed to Shiro quickly and grabbed him, this time by the collar of his suit, yanking him closer to the control panel.

"Well, then maybe your leader can convince you," Sendak sneered.

"What do you want?" Shiro bit out.

"Shiro?" The worry in Pidge's voice was evident.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shiro saw Sendak raise his cyborg hand, which was now crackling with electricity. Shiro's eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen.

"Pidge! Pidge don't listen to-" He tried to warn her, but he was cut off as he felt Sendak's hand descend on his shoulder.

Shiro screamed.

Lightning coursed through his body, through his skin. He felt his body involuntarily jerking and writhing as pain flowed into him. Reflexive tears tracked down his cheeks as the iron hand clamped down through his suit, holding him still as more and more electricity pulsed through him.

As soon as it started, it was over. Shiro panted harshly, trying to fill his abused lungs. He almost didn't catch Sendak speaking to Pidge as he was focused so much on his breathing.

"You can make it stop. Turn yourself in. His suffering is in your hands," Sendak said.

The hard hand left his shoulder and Shiro collapsed next to Lance, groaning as he landed backwards on his manacled wrists. His whole body spasmed and twitched, and Shiro felt aftershocks rushing through him. Now he knew how Lance felt. Everything hurt.

"You know, Paladin, I am impressed at your ability to hold up under all of that electricity. Most Galran cadets would have passed out after that. Perhaps it would be worth a trip to your planet to see if the rest of your kind have your spirit," Sendak purred.

Shiro didn't answer. He didn't even want to. He was so tired. Maybe he would pass out. He welcomed the thought of black, blissful oblivion.

"Of course," the Galran continued, "they will all end up broken. Just like you. Now that we have Voltron, every planet, every race, all share the same fate."

As tired as he was, as much as he wanted to curl up and pretend none of this was happening, Shiro couldn't ignore that.

"No. I'm not broken. What you did to me, it didn't break me. It made me stronger. It made me a better person. And as long as Voltron exists, as long as we Paladins exist, Zarkon will never win. The Galrans will never hurt anyone ever again," Shiro promised.

Sendak merely chuckled.

"We shall see, Paladin."

Shiro tensed as Sendak reached out and grabbed him again by the hair, this time grabbing Lance as well. Shiro hissed in pain as he and Lance were yanked to the edge of the platform, where Sendak dropped them. Shiro heard Lance groan again in his unconsciousness.

The Black Paladin lied where he was on his side, relief washing over him as Sendak turned away and left the two Paladins alone.

The cold floor felt soothing on his skin, and he relaxed for a moment, closing his eyes. Well, as much as he could, knowing that he was going to be taken straight back to Zarkon. Shiro knew he wasn't prepared to go back to that death match. He still had nightmares about the blood spattered on the ground and the walls. And the bodies.

So many bodies.

Almost every night, he woke in a cold sweat, trembling as unwanted memories flashed through his mind.

And this time Lance would be there with him.

He wasn't sure if Lance could survive the Arena. Shiro knew Lance could handle himself with a sniper rifle, but Lance had only practiced basic hand-to-hand combat. He wasn't prepared to deal with any of the fighting in the Arena; the Galrans only supplied swords. It was gorier that way. A better show.

What if Shiro couldn't protect him?

He knew Lance was a natural spitfire. It was a part of his personality. But if he didn't learn to control himself, what happened to him minutes ago would happen again.

And he would never forgive himself if Lance got hurt.

As he mulled over his thoughts, his breathing became more deep and even. He still felt little snakes of electricity go through him, and he still jumped and twitched a little.

Shiro had no idea how he did it, but eventually he drifted into a restless sleep as he worried about his teammate.

It felt like only ticks later he was being woken, when it was actually dobashes.

He was shaken out of his doze by little hands. So it wasn't Sendak. Thank goodness.

"Shiro, wake up," someone whispered gently. Definitely not Sendak. Slowly, he obeyed and cracked open his eyes. The Green Paladin was kneeling in front of him.

"Pidge!" he whispered loudly with surprised eyes. She was here!

"Shhh. I distracted Sendak, but he could be back any second. We need t-"

In the blink of an eye, Sendak, with another loud growl, grabbed Pidge and yanked her into the air. She cried out as the same hand that shocked Shiro now squeezed around her painfully. It all happened so quickly; Shiro didn't even see Sendak come into the room.

"You really thought your little hologram trick would work with me?" he hissed.

Before he could say any more, Keith and Allura ran into the room. Keith had his sword drawn already and looked about ready to murder someone.

The hand that had Pidge tightened as Sendak turned to face them. Pidge flailed wildly, grabbing and trying to pry it off of her.

"Stand back," he threatened.

Shiro suddenly felt movement beside him, then heard and felt a blast. It hit Sendak in the back and took him by surprise. He released the Green Paladin, as he stumbled forward, and she swiftly rolled away from him.

Shiro looked to his side. Lance was sitting up, blaster still aimed at the Galran. The Blue Paladin's adrenalin depleted then, and he fell back against the wall, bayard vanishing as he dropped his arms.

Now was his chance. Shiro rose up smoothly and charged at Sendak. The general threw Shiro out of the way, and rushed at Keith. The air fled his lungs as he landed none too painfully on his back.

He grunted and rolled onto his side, gasping. Before he had a chance to recover, the fight was over. Sendak was now pounding on the blue shield that had trapped him. After a few dobashes of hitting the makeshift prison, Sendak gave up and dropped his arm, panting.

"I will get out of this, Paladins. This fight is not over. I will get out of here."

"Yeesh," Pidge said as she walked over to help Shiro, "cliché much?"

Shiro sighed in relief as the restraints fell away, pulling his abused arms in front of him. Pidge helped him stand.

"You okay, Shiro?" she asked quietly.

"I-I'm good," he said.

Pidge looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a disbelieving look. "You're sure?"

Shiro chuckled dryly. "I feel like somebody shocked me and threw me around, but otherwise, I'm just peachy."

"I know how you feel," she said sardonically. "Sendak has a mean left hand."

Shiro snorted. Count on Pidge to make light of a desperate situation.

He looked over to the Blue Paladin. Keith was helping him stand; Lance still needed a cryo-pod. Shiro breathed a sigh of relief. Lance was okay. He was still hurt, but he was okay.

Everything would be okay.

...

A/N: Leave a review below, please! I love any and all comments! (Just not flames)

I was thinking of making a little one-shot sequel, but if I don't get too many reviews, I won't. You all tell me!


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